Non-contacting support for a wafer

ABSTRACT

In one type of planarizing machine, a wafer is maintained with its fragile processed side facing downward as the wafer is passed from a robot to a load station and from the load station to a spindle carrier, and then returned from the spindle carrier to the load station to the robot. These transfers must be accomplished without anything solid contacting the downwardly facing side of the wafer. This is accomplished by supporting the wafer, while it is on the load station, on cushions of purified water. The cushions are formed at three spaced areas on the lower side of the wafer by upwardly-directed nozzles located below the wafer. The purified water is discharged with sufficient force to prevent the wafer from contacting the nozzles. The use of three separate cushions insures stability of the wafer.

This Application claims Benefits of provisional application Ser. No. 60/075,129 filed Feb. 4, 1998

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is in the field of semiconductor manufacturing and more specifically relates to improvements in apparatus for handling semiconductor wafers as they are carried through a planarizing machine.

As supplied to the planarizing machine, the surface of a wafer may exhibit departures from flatness. Typically, 25 wafers are loaded into a cassette which is hand carried to a complex machine called a planarizer. The purpose of the planarizer is to render the front surface of the wafer flat to within a fraction of a micron. After each wafer has been rendered flat, the planarizer inserts it into a cassette. When the cassette is full, it may be removed from the planarizer and transported to any of a number of other processing machines.

The present invention cannot be fully appreciated without an understanding of the operation of the planarizer. Once the cassette containing typically 25 pre-processed wafers has been inserted into the planarizer, the operation of the planarizer in processing the wafers is completely autonomous. The operations are carried out under control of a computer that controls the application of power to various actuators in response to sensed inputs in a time-coordinated manner. In order for its lengthy program of operations to be carried out without mishap, it is important that means be provided to interrupt the accumulation of positional errors. It can also be appreciated that the wafers must be handled carefully to avoid scratching the processed surfaces which are so fragile that they are never again touched by human hands.

The present invention can best be understood by following a typical wafer as it is moved through the planarizer. The wafer is extracted from the cassette by a portion of the planarizer called a robot. The robot carries the wafer to a fixed location known as the load station. After the robot has deposited the wafer at the load station and has moved out of the way, a different part (called a spindle carrier) moves into position above the wafer and acquires it. The spindle carrier transports the wafer to a rotating polishing platen and rotates the wafer while holding it in contact with the rotating polishing platen until the wafer has been rendered flat. Thereafter, the spindle lifts the wafer from the polishing platen and transports it back to the load station where the wafer is rinsed. After the spindle carrier has deposited the wafer at the load station and has moved out of the way, the robot picks up the polished wafer and carries it to a cassette and deposits the wafer in the cassette. Throughout these operations, the wafer is maintained in a horizontal position with the side that is to be polished facing downward. That downward facing side of the wafer is also referred to as the front side of the wafer. The path of an individual wafer through the planarizer will be depicted in greater detail below.

Upon reflection it will be seen that the main purpose of the load station is to accurately center the wafer into the carrier notwithstanding the errors in their relative positions as they enter the load station.

In addition to centering the wafer with respect to the carrier, the load station performs a number of useful ancillary functions. The load station includes provision for sensing the presence of the wafer at the load station, for rinsing the wafer, for lifting the wafer into the carrier, and for supporting the processed wafer on cushions of water to avoid direct contact. Thus, the load station serves several other functions in addition to centering the wafer with respect to the carrier.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

As indicated in FIGS. 1-10, the wafer is maintained with its fragile processed side facing downward as the wafer is passed from the robot to the load station and from the load station to the spindle carrier, and then returned from the spindle carrier to the load station to the robot. It is an objective of the present invention to accomplish these transfers without anything solid contacting the downwardly facing side of the wafer.

In accordance with the present invention this is accomplished by supporting the wafer while it is on the load station on cushions of purified water. The cushions are formed at three spaced areas on the lower side of the wafer by upwardly-directed nozzles located below the wafer. The purified water is discharged with sufficient force to prevent the wafer from contacting the nozzles.

The use of three separate cushions insures stability of the wafer.

The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the invention, both as to organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, will be better understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the use of a robot to remove a wafer from a cassette;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the robot placing a wafer on the load station;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the spindle carrier after it has moved to a position directly above the load station;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the spindle carrier descending onto the load station and acquiring the wafer;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the spindle carrier transporting the wafer to a polishing platen;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the spindle carrier holding the wafer on the polishing platen;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the spindle carrier transporting the polished wafer to the load station;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the spindle carrier depositing the polished wafer on the load station;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the robot removing the polished wafer from the load station after the spindle carrier has returned to its home station above the polishing platen;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the robot placing the polished wafer into a cassette;

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the load station of FIGS. 1-4;

FIG. 12 is a side elevational view in cross section through the load station of FIG. 11, in the direction 12—12 indicated in FIG. 11, showing the configuration of the parts when the carrier first makes contact with the centering apparatus of the load station;

FIG. 13 is a side elevational cross sectional view through the load station of FIG. 11 showing the positions of the parts at the conclusion of the centering operation;

FIG. 14 is a side elevational cross sectional view through the load station of FIG. 11 showing the center nozzle actuated to lift the wafer into the carrier;

FIG. 15 is a side elevational cross sectional view through the load station of FIG. 11 showing the center nozzle rinsing the polished wafer;

FIG. 16 is a hydraulic diagram of the hydraulic system used for hovering of the wafer and sensing its presence;

FIG. 17 is a side elevational view of an alternative embodiment of the centering apparatus showing its configuration at the instant the carrier portion of the spindle carrier first makes contact with the centering apparatus; and,

FIG. 18 is a side elevational view of the alternative embodiment of the centering apparatus of FIG. 17 showing its configuration when the spindle carrier is in the lowest position with the wafer centered in the carrier.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention includes a series of operations carried out by a planarizing machine on a wafer that is to be planarized. Generally, the front surface, on which the electronic circuitry will be deposited is not as flat as required. The overall purpose of the planarizing machine is to render the front surface of each wafer as flat as possible.

The wafers are carried to the machine in an incoming cassette 16 in which the wafers are temporarily stored in a stacked configuration. The incoming cassette is inserted into the planarizing machine, and thereafter the machine processes the wafers autonomously, presenting the processed wafers in an outgoing cassette 24 of FIG. 10, which the operator removes from the machine. A typical cassette has a capacity of 25 wafers.

FIGS. 1-10 form a series showing schematically the path of a wafer as it progresses through the planarizing machine.

As shown in FIG. 1, a robot 14 removes the upper-most wafer 12 from the incoming cassette 16 and transports the wafer to a load station 18. In a preferred embodiment, the robot holds onto the wafer by applying suction to the upper surface of the wafer, also called the back side of the wafer, which is not the surface that is to be rendered flat.

As shown in FIG. 2, the robot 14 deposits the wafer 12 onto the load station 18. The robot then moves to an out-of-the-way station leaving the wafer reposing on a cushion of purified water provided by the load station, as will be described below.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the spindle 20 moves into a position directly above the load station 18, and as indicated in FIG. 4, the spindle is lowered onto the load station 18. As will be described below, the descending motion of the spindle 20 centers the load station 18 with respect to the spindle carrier 32 and simultaneously centers the wafer 12 with respect to the spindle carrier 32. At this juncture, an upwardly-directed jet of purified water directed against the lower face of the wafer lifts the centered wafer into contact with the carrier, which then acquires the wafer through the use of a vacuum system of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,716 issued Jun. 13, 1995 to Alan Strasbaugh for WAFER-HANDLING APPARATUS HAVING A RESILIENT MEMBRANE WHICH HOLDS WAFER WHEN A VACUUM IS APPLIED, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,316 issued Sep. 12, 1995 to Alan Strasbaugh for WAFER CARRIER FOR FILM PLANARIZATION, and in U.S. application Ser. No. 08/971,642 filed Nov. 17,1997 by Salman M. Kassir and Thomas A. Walsh for GRINDING PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR PLANARIZING SAWED WAFERS. The disclosures of U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,716 and 5,449,316 are incorporated herein by reference.

Having thus acquired the wafer, the spindle 20 lifts the wafer from the load station 18 and carries it to the polishing platen 22. The spindle 20 rotates the wafer 12 about a vertical axis that is displaced from the vertical axis about which the polishing platen rotates, as is known in the art. FIG. 6 shows the carrier holding the wafer 12 against the polishing platen 22, whereby the lower surface of the wafer is polished flat.

After the polishing has been completed, the planarized wafer is transported by the spindle 20 to the load station 18 and deposited there as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. Thereafter, the spindle moves to an out-of-the-way position and the wafer is rinsed by the load station 18. Following this rinsing, the wafer is acquired by the robot 14 and transported to an outgoing cassette 24, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, respectively. Thereafter, the planarizing machine repeats the process with the next wafer which is upper-most in the incoming cassette 16 of FIG. 1.

More recent embodiments of the planarizing machine employ multiple polishing platens, robots, spindles, and load stations permitting two or more wafers to be processed simultaneously with the operations performed in parallel or staggered for maximum efficiency.

A portion of the spindle 20 called the carrier 32 is a ring-shaped part that encircles the wafer so as to retain the wafer in the spindle during the polishing process by preventing the wafer from slipping out sideways. The radial spacing between the circumference of the wafer and the inner edge of the carrier is typically a fraction of a millimeter. One of the most significant problems solved by the load station 18 is centering of the wafer with respect to the carrier ring to such a close tolerance. The initial placement of the wafer onto the load station, as indicated in FIG. 1, includes positional errors, and likewise, the positioning of the spindle 20 above the load station, as in FIG. 3, is also subject to position errors. Without some way of eliminating these various lateral position errors, it would be impossible for the wafer to be acquired within the carrier 32 of the spindle 20.

In the preferred embodiment the centering action of the load station is accomplished in a manner which will now be described in connection with FIGS. 11, 12, and 13. The load ring assembly of FIG. 11 lies horizontally within a pan-like base 26. The load ring 28 is not rigidly attached to the base 26 and, in fact is capable of limited lateral sliding motion with respect to the base 26. A number, typically six, of centering tabs, of which the tab 30 is typical, are spaced around the circumference of the load ring 28. These tabs are pivotably attached to the load ring, each pivoting about its own horizontal axis that is tangent to the load ring. The tabs pivot from an unloaded position shown in FIG. 12 to a loaded position shown in FIG. 13. In the unloaded condition, the tabs are biased to the position shown in FIG. 12 by a helical spring 31, and the tab bends at a living hinge 36.

FIG. 12 shows the load station after the wafer has been deposited on it by the robot 14, but before the spindle carrier 32 has descended. FIG. 13 shows the load station after the spindle has descended to its lowest extent. Note that FIG. 12 is a view in the directions 12—12 shown in FIG. 11.

When first deposited onto the load station 18 the wafer 12 is unlikely to be concentric with the carrier 32 of the spindle 20, and as seen in FIG. 12, clearance is provided for lateral movement of the wafer. The wafer is levitated on cushions of purified deionized water that emerge under low pressure from the nozzles 42, 44, 46. In the preferred embodiment, there are three such nozzles, and the presence of the water flowing between the body of the nozzle 42, 44, 46 and the wafer prevents contact of the nozzle with the lower side of the wafer.

As the spindle carrier is lowered onto the load station 18 as shown in FIG. 4, the horizontal lower surface 34 of the carrier 32 pushes downwardly against the top horizontal surface of the load ring 28 overcoming the biasing force of the helical spring 31 causing a first inward-facing surface 33 of the centering tab to swing radially inward until the inward-facing surface makes contact with the edge of the wafer 12. Concurrently, the pivoting of the centering tab brings a second inwardly facing surface 35 into contact with the circumference of the carrier 32. The carrier 32 is not free to move laterally, and therefore the load ring shifts laterally in an effort to center itself with respect to the carrier. At the conclusion of the downward motion of the spindle, the load ring 28 is centered with respect to the carrier 32, and the wafer is centered with respect to the load ring; therefore, the wafer is centered with respect to the carrier. Immediately thereafter, an upwardly-directed jet of water from the nozzle 40 elevates the wafer 12 into the carrier 32 and holds it in that position long enough for the vacuum system of the spindle carrier to acquire the wafer. Having thus acquired the wafer, the spindle then transports the wafer to the polishing platen 22 as shown in FIG. 5.

To avoid the possibility of accidentally damaging the front (lower) face of the wafer 12, both before and after it has been planarized, the wafer is always supported while at the load station 18 on three cushions of purified and deionized water. These cushions of water flow between the underside of the wafer and the upper end of the nozzles 42, 44 and 46 seen in FIG. 11. As best seen in FIGS. 12 and 13, these nozzles are attached to the load ring 28, so that as the load ring is pushed downwardly by the spindle, the nozzles 42, 44 and 46 move downward with the load ring, thereby continuing to support the wafer.

FIG. 16 is a hydraulic diagram showing how the nozzles are connected to a supply main 48. It has been found that a relatively low volumetric flow rate is adequate to prevent the wafer 12 from contacting the nozzles.

The present inventors have discovered that the nozzles 42, 44 and 46 can perform another useful function, in addition to levitating the wafer. The presence of the wafer as it is being levitated above the nozzles increases the resistance of each nozzle to the outflow of water. Clearly, if each nozzle were completely closed off, the pressure in the branches 50, 52 and 54 would become equal to the supply pressure. At the other extreme, if the nozzles 42, 44 and 46 offered no resistance to the flow, then the pressure in the branches 50, 52 and 54 would be considerably less than the supply pressure. The present inventors saw that this effect can be used to sense the presence of the wafer as it rests on the cushion of water between the tops of the nozzles and the lower side of the wafer. To implement this, the inventors have inserted a pressure sensor 56 in the branch 54 as shown in FIG. 16. The inventors have found that it is beneficial to insert a flow restrictor 58 in the branch 54 upstream of the pressure sensor 56. Valves 60 and 62 in the branches 50 and 52 respectively permit equalization of the flow through the nozzles.

Knowledge of whether a wafer is reposing on the load station 18, obtained by the pressure sensor 56, is useful in determining what the spindle 20 should do in the situation illustrated in FIG. 4 and in the situation illustrated in FIG. 8. The presence of a wafer on the load station in FIG. 3 results in the spindle descending to the position shown in FIGS. 4 and 13 so as to acquire the wafer. In contrast, the absence of a wafer on the load station in FIG. 8 results in the spindle descending only far enough to deposit the wafer on the nozzles 42, 44 and 46 as shown in FIG. 12.

FIGS. 12, 13, and 14 show cross sectional views of nozzle 40. It will be recalled that this nozzle provides a stream of water directed upward toward the lower face of the wafer 12 for the purpose of elevating the wafer into contact with a vacuum pad within the spindle carrier, whereby the carrier acquires the wafer from the load station. As best seen in FIG. 14, the nozzle 40 includes a cylinder 64 within which a spool 66 is disposed in a loose sliding fit. This permits the spool 66 to move upward from the position shown in FIG. 13 to the position shown in FIG. 14 wherein a shoulder 68 on the spool is stopped by a flange 70. The spool 66 includes a central passage 72 through which the purified water is discharged.

After the carrier 32 is lowered into the load station to the position shown in FIG. 13, the upward flow of water out of the top of the spool 66 is partially impeded by the presence of the wafer. This causes an increase in pressure in the chamber immediately below the spool, thereby pushing the spool upwards within the cylinder 64 to the position shown in FIG. 14. At no time does the spool 66 touch the wafer (because of the water cushion), but as the wafer moves upward the spool is able to keep up with it, thereby maintaining an upward force on the wafer that pushes the upper surface of the wafer against a vacuum pad within the carrier, and holding the wafer against the pad until the vacuum causes the wafer to be secured to the carrier.

The relatively strong upward stream discharged by the nozzle 40 rinses the wafer from the center outwardly seen in FIG. 15. The spool never contacts the wafer after the wafer has been polished.

FIGS. 17 and 18 show an alternative embodiment of the pivoting fingers 30 of FIGS. 12 and 13 FIG. 17 shows the configuration after the wafer 12 has been deposited but before the centering process has begun. FIG. 18 shows the configuration at the conclusion of the centering process.

As the spindle 20 descends from the position shown in FIG. 17 to the position shown in FIG. 18, the pivoting body 76 is forced to rotate clockwise (as seen in the drawings) until the surface 76 contacts the cylindrical outer surface of the carrier 78 thereby centering the load ring with respect to the carrier, while simultaneously, the surface 80 contacts the edge of the wafer 12 so as to center the wafer with respect to the load ring. As shown in FIG. 18, at the conclusion of the centering process the load ring is centered with respect to the carrier and the wafer is centered with respect to the load ring, and therefore the wafer must be centered with respect to the carrier.

Thus, there has been described a very useful load station for handling wafers within a planarizing machine. The load station interrupts the accumulation of positional errors by centering the wafer with respect to the carrier that is acquiring the wafer. The acquisition is accomplished without touching the front side of the wafer by use of a novel nozzle that elevates the wafer into the carrier by directing a jet of water against the front side of the wafer. At no time does the wafer actually make solid contact with the load station. Instead, the wafer is always levitated on three fountains of water. Back pressure caused by the wafer impeding the flow of water from these fountains is sensed and the sensed signal is used to indicate the presence of a wafer on the load station.

The foregoing detailed description is illustrative of one embodiment of the invention, and it is to be understood that additional embodiments thereof will be obvious to those skilled in the art. The embodiments described herein together with those additional embodiments are considered to be within the scope of the invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. Non-contacting apparatus for enabling a wafer to hover in a horizontal position while enabling limited motion of the wafer in any direction in a horizontal plane, comprising: three upwardly-directed nozzles located beneath the wafer; and, a pressurized fluid supply for supplying a pressurized fluid to each nozzle, the pressurized fluid flowing from each nozzle forming a separate cushion at each nozzle between each nozzle and the wafer; whereby the cushions provide a stable three-point support for the wafer, prevent the wafer from coming into contact with the nozzles, maintain the wafer at a constant elevation, and permit friction-free movement of the wafer in the horizontal plane.
 2. The non-contacting apparatus of claim 1 wherein the pressurized fluid supply for supplying a pressurized fluid to each nozzle further comprises: a supply main; and, branches connecting the supply main to each of the three nozzles.
 3. The non-contacting apparatus of claim 2 further comprising: a pressure sensor connected to one of the branches for sensing the pressure of the pressurized fluid in that branch; whereby the presence or absence of a wafer is indicated by the sensed pressure.
 4. Non-contacting apparatus for enabling a wafer to hover in a horizontal position while the wafer is being guided in a horizontal plane to center it with respect to a load ring, comprising: three upwardly directed nozzles affixed to the load ring at spaced locations; and, a pressurized fluid supply for supplying a pressurized fluid to each nozzle, the pressurized fluid flowing from each nozzle forming a separate cushion at each nozzle between each nozzle and the wafer; whereby the cushions provide a stable three-point support for the wafer, prevent the wafer from coming into contact with the nozzles, maintain the wafer at a constant position with respect to the load ring as the load ring moves vertically, and permit friction-free lateral movement of the wafer as the wafer is being centered with respect to the load ring.
 5. The non-contacting apparatus of claim 4 wherein the pressurized fluid supply for supplying a pressurized fluid to each nozzle further comprises: a supply main; branches connecting the supply main to each of the three nozzles.
 6. The non-contacting apparatus of claim 5 further comprising: a pressure sensor connected to one of the branches for sensing the pressure of the pressurized fluid in that branch; whereby the presence or absence of a wafer is indicated by the sensed pressure.
 7. An apparatus for supporting a wafer in a non-contacting manner, comprising: three or more upwardly-directed nozzles located beneath a wafer when the wafer is placed into the apparatus; a pressurized fluid supply configured to output a pressurized fluid stream from each of the three or more upwardly-directed nozzles, the pressurized fluid stream at each of the three or more upwardly-directed nozzles forming a cushion on top of which the wafer sits whereby the cushions provide a stable support for the wafer and prevent the wafer from contacting the apparatus during the handling of the wafer.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the pressurized fluid supply further comprises a pressurized fluid reservoir and a branch connecting each of the three or more upwardly-directed nozzles to the reservoir.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising: a sensor connected to one branch connecting each of the three or more upwardly-directed nozzles to the reservoir that senses a pressure of the fluid in that branch wherein the presence of a wafer increases the pressure sensed by the sensor and the absence of a wafer decreases the pressure sensed by the sensor. 